


Where do Gem babies come from?

by DemonRomantic



Series: Steven Universe collection [1]
Category: Steven Universe (Cartoon)
Genre: Backstory, F/F, F/M, Fluff and Angst, Multi, Other, prepare to cry
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-11-16
Updated: 2018-01-10
Packaged: 2019-02-03 07:40:23
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 6,573
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12743961
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DemonRomantic/pseuds/DemonRomantic
Summary: Connie asks how Steven was born, then Greg launches into a story for the both of them.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> FINALLY! I am able to write again! Hallelujah!  
> I've been wondering how exactly Steven was born myself, and formed my own theory based off of some others I heard. This seems to be a slightly more logical one, but who knows? Maybe we'll get an answer eventually, but for now, I hope you all enjoy this story. :)

Where do Gem babies come from?  
By DemonRomantic

It was another sunny day in Beach City, and Connie and Steven were helping Greg move stuff again today.   
“Mr. Universe, I found a loose photo, where should I put it?” Connie asked holding it out for Greg to take.  
“So, that’s where that one went. Thanks Connie, I really need to be more careful with these.” He looked at the photo lovingly, Steven and Connie stood to either side of him now.  
“Wait, is that me?” Steven asked, pointing to the picture, which showed Greg holding a very small baby.  
“Yup, this is the first photo I had taken of you and me together. It’s from the day you were born.”  
“Wow.” Steven marveled at the photo.  
“I’ve been meaning to ask, that is, if it’s not too personal… how did you and Mrs. Universe have Steven?” Connie asked.  
“Well,” Greg looked down into the faces of the pubescent children and blushed. “I’m not sure if that’s something I should tell you without your parents’ permission.”  
“Aww, but I want to hear the story again!” Steven complained.  
“It’s okay, sir, my parents have already had the talk with me, and since my mother is a doctor I know a lot about anatomy. I’m just curious about the physiology involved with making gems and gem hybrids.”  
“Oh, in that case, I guess I can give you a basic understanding. You two pull up a box.”  
Steven cleared his throat. “Ahem, aren’t you forgetting something?”  
Greg chuckled. “Alright, alright,” He pulled out his guitar and tuned it before delving into his story with a song.

“What do you do when your lady, says she’s ready to have a baby? Oh, what do you do, when you don’t know what to do? Well, I could never be ready. I could never be ready, but I’m sure glad we had you.”  
Greg sat in the sand in a black shirt with a star on it and frayed jean-shorts while he lazily strummed his guitar. His hair blew out behind him as a late afternoon breeze sent goosebumps over his bare arms. The familiar sound of a warp pad sounded behind him and he stood and ran up to the temple entrance to greet Rose.   
The Crystal Gems and their leader emerged and Rose immediately shot a smile at Greg that was warmly returned.  
“Heya, ladies. We still on for tonight, Rose?”  
Pearl noticeably bristled but covered it up with an aloof glance away and walked off followed by Garnet and Amethyst. Rose padded down the steps of the warp pad with her bare feet and came to stand before Greg with lidded eyes.   
“Of course, Mr. Universe.” Her sly confidence was quickly replaced with an unsure look. “You’ll have to tell me what to do, since I don’t know exactly how a date works.”  
“There’s nothing to it. The person who asks gets to do the planning, so you just get to enjoy the experience.” He extended a hand towards her palm up. “Shall we, milady?”  
Rose giggled sweetly and took his hand with a smile. 

Inside of a restaurant, Rose and Greg sat at a round table draped with a white cloth. Each of them held a menu and glanced over it.   
“Hmm, what looks good to you, Greg?”  
“I think I’ll be fine with the Cheeseburger dinner. What are you having?”  
“I’ll try that, too.” She grinned.   
“You sure? You can get whatever you’d like.”  
“I’m not used to eating, being a gem and all. Our bodies don’t need food. Pearl hates eating, but Garnet and Amethyst say that it’s enjoyable.”  
“How do your bodies work? I know that you can fuse and all, but how exactly do you do that?”  
“It’s hard to explain. Our bodies are a manifestation of light that becomes a physical form, produced by our gems’. When our physical forms are damaged, they deconstruct and leave behind only our gem. Fusion combines the physical forms of two or more gems so that our bodies are larger and stronger. It takes a compatible partnership to make a stable fusion. Take Garnet for instance, she’s always together. I haven’t seen her unfused in centuries.”  
“Wow.”  
A waiter approached with a notebook and pen. “Good evening, may I take your order?”  
“Two of your Cheeseburger dinners please, with extra fries.” Greg said handing over his menu.   
Rose returned hers as well to the waiter, who smiled at her. Her gaze traveled after the waiter and noticed the other tables around hers and Greg’s. Other couples sat close together, one of the men from the table next to theirs got out of his chair and knelt before his boyfriend. The man withdrew a box and opened it to reveal a ring. His partner put his hands over his mouth and then threw his arms around him in a tight embrace. The other patrons, including Greg, clapped at the display.  
Rose tilted her head to the side. “Am I supposed to give you a ring?”  
“Ha, ha. No, he was just proposing.”  
“Proposing?”  
“It’s what you do when you want to ask someone to marry you.”  
“Oh, I’ve heard of that. It’s what humans do when they love each other, right?”  
“Yeah, sometimes. Not everyone marries each other though. Some people decide to just date for a long time.”  
“I see. So, why do they give each other rings?”   
“It’s a symbol of marriage. It’s a way of letting everyone else know that you’re in love with someone and that you’re together.”  
“Strange.” She glanced closer at the ring the man now wore on his finger, a small gemstone glinted in its center. “You give each other rings with gems in them as a symbol of love.”  
“Not all of them have gems, but yeah.”  
Rose paused for a long moment before speaking again. “I want to give you my gem as a symbol of my love.”  
Greg, who had been drinking from a glass of water, did a spit-take and wiped his mouth on the back of his hand.   
“Are you alright?”  
“Yeah, I’m fine. You just caught me off guard is all… I don’t know what to say. Do you… are you really sure you want to give me your gem? I mean, I love you too, but that seems kind of serious.”  
Rose chuckled. “I can’t actually give you my gem, but I want you to know how much you mean to me. In other words, I’m giving you my heart.”  
Greg got starry-eyed and blushed severely, chortling like a complete fool. “Wow. What do I say to that? I…” He stopped blushing and got a serious look on his face before taking Rose’s hand. “I promise to take good care of it, for as long as I live.”  
She smiled.

Nothing changed between the two starry-eyed lovers, except that their bond grew stronger and stronger by the day. Rose spent more time with Greg than before, and begged him to help her understand more human rituals. One day while they were taking a walk, they ran into Vidalia pushing baby Sour-Cream in a stroller with a grocery bag strung on one arm.   
“Well, if it isn’t the infamous Greg Universe and his super-powered girlfriend.”  
“Hey, there Vidalia. Hey, baby Sour-Cream.”  
“Meh.” Sour-cream said.  
Rose bent down to wave at Sour-cream and smiled. “He is so cute.”  
“Yup, he’s a looker. Gonna be a real heart-breaker when he grows-up. Say, you aren’t so bad looking yourself there, Rose. Would you be interested in modeling for one of my paintings?”  
“I’d love to.”   
Vidalia thrusted her grocery bag at Greg. “Here, why don’t you make yourself useful and carry these to the house. Sour-cream likes you, so you can play with him while I get started on Rose’s portrait.”  
“Sure thing.” Greg said, begrudgingly carrying the bag.  
Greg played with Sour-cream and Rose sat for an hour while Vidalia painted her outline.   
“That hair of yours is gorgeous, but a real pain in the butt to paint. I’ll have to have you model again so that I can finish it up.”  
“Of course, I’d be happy too.”  
Vidalia cleaned up her art supplies and washed her hands before picking-up Sour-cream. “Here, would you mind holding him while I get dinner ready?”  
“Are you sure?”  
“What, haven’t you ever held a baby before?” Vidalia handed Rose Sour-cream and headed for the kitchen.   
Greg was asleep on the floor where he had been playing with Sour-cream, and snored softly. Rose was starry-eyed and gazing at the baby in her arms.   
“Oh, my goodness, you are precious.” She proclaimed. A sudden glowing emitted from her gem as she smiled lovingly at the baby.   
“Okay, food’s ready everyone!” Vidalia announced.

Walking back to the temple and Greg’s van, the couple strolled hand in hand, until Rose stopped.   
“What is it Rose?”  
“Greg, I’ve been wanting to ask you something for a while now.” She said, closing her eyes in thought.   
“Well sure, what is it?”  
“How do you make a human?”  
“WHAT?!” Greg nearly fell backwards.  
“I’m sorry, did I ask something I’m not supposed to?”   
“No, it’s not wrong to ask questions, that’s just a big one to answer.”  
Rose just blinked inquisitively at him.   
“Uh, well usually it takes a man and a woman and what comes from inside each of them. When those things are joined together, a baby will start to grow inside the woman and then when it’s ready to come out, she’ll give birth.”  
Rose’s eyes were starry and she gaped in wonder. “Amazing, so it’s like fusion?”  
“Well, not exactly, but sort of, I guess… What made you want to know about that all of a sudden?”  
Rose blushed. “I’ve always been curious about humans, and intrigued with your strange rituals. Lately, I can’t help but think about how much you’ve been missing out on human traditions because of me. Gems don’t get married, or have children. We’re just… stagnant. I feel guilty for making your life like that.”  
Greg laced his fingers with Rose’s and gave them a squeeze. She looked up at him to find him smiling at her with hooded eyes.  
“My life has been anything but stagnant since I met you, Rose.”   
He gave her a brief kiss, stroking the side of her face as he did. When they broke away, he knelt in front of her on one knee and took both of her hands in his while he gazed up into her eyes.  
“Rose Quartz, I’m so in love with you that I can’t picture my life without you in it. You are all that I want, remember?”  
The stars returned to her eyes, but tears welled up in them as well. “I love you, too. I just wish that I could give you a normal human life. I’ve always wanted to experience life the way a human does. To grow, and learn, and not have to worry about other gems. If I were a human, then we could have a family together.”  
Greg stood, turning from her, and looking up at the star covered sky. “So, that’s it, huh? You want to have a family?”  
“The others have become like my family over time, but like I said, gems don’t grow up. We’re created as we were made to be. I watched humans before I started leading my rebellion against home world. They made me realize that I could be whoever I wanted to be, that I didn’t have to fit the role I was born into.”  
A moment of silence fell between them, and all that could be heard was the tide in the distance as it crashed and receded.   
“Let’s do it, then. Let’s start a family.”  
“Wait, Greg…”  
He turned back to her, a determined look on his face. “I’m serious. I want you to be happy, and I’ve always wanted to have a family of my own. So, why not?”  
“It might not even work. I’m not the same as a human woman.”  
“For however long it takes, I’m willing to try if you are. I want to have a baby with you, Rose Quartz.”  
The sudden crushing grip around him made him gasp for air. “Rose… can’t breathe!”  
She released him and laughed with pure delight. “I think it’s important that we tell the others, especially Garnet. If anyone knows how to make an unconventional fusion, it’s her. Amethyst will be excited, and Pearl will…” Rose’s face fell.  
“Yeah… she might not take the news so well.” Greg rubbed the back of his head uncomfortably. “I can tell her.”  
“No, I’ll talk to her. I need to be the one to do that.” 

When Garnet, Amethyst, and Pearl returned from their mission, Greg and Rose were waiting for them at the warp pad. The three gems regarded their leader with questioning eyes.  
“We need to tell you all something.” Rose began. “It might be strange to you, and you may get upset, but Greg and I have made the decision to have a baby together.”  
All three of their jaws dropped. Amethyst was the first to recover.  
“Wow, Greg, I didn’t think you had it in you.”  
“We aren’t having one yet. We don’t know if this is a definite possibility or not.”  
Pearl’s eyes were clouded with a dark look, but her voice was deadly calm and cold. “You seem to have made a definite decision about it.”  
“Pearl, this is something that Greg and I both want.” She came over to place her hands on Pearl’s shoulders and looked into the pained eyes of her companion she had known for longer than any of them. She was her original partner. “I know that I haven’t been fair to you lately. I haven’t made my feelings toward Greg clear to you. I love all of you.” She looked to each of the four people surrounding her and brought her gaze back to Pearl after lingering on Greg. “But, I’m in love with Greg. I’ve wanted this since before I knew any one of you, but I don’t expect any of you to be happy for me and Greg. All that I’m asking is for your help.”  
Pearl sighed resignedly. “Whatever makes you happy.”   
She turned away and left towards the temple entrance without another word.  
Greg came over to Rose and put his hand on her shoulder, Garnet followed and placed both of her hands on either of their shoulders’. “I think that it’s beautiful that the two of you want to create a new life together. That’s certainly something I can support.”  
“Yeah, it would be cool to see you guys make a mini-Greg or Rose.” Amethyst piped-up.   
“It’s going to take a lot of effort, but I think that somehow we’ll make it work.” Greg said.

*Greg’s song begins to play over the following montage.*  
“It takes a lot of patience,”  
Greg and Rose spend the next few weeks at the library with stacks of anatomy, child rearing, and gem formation books. Thumbing through each of them with exhausted but hopeful faces.  
“It takes a lot of work,”  
On the beach, Garnet attempts to show Greg and Rose how she fuses, by becoming Ruby and Sapphire and then fusing again, but the couple continues to fail to make a fusion. Pearl can be seen in the background with a dejected expression. Amethyst places a hand on her shoulder to comfort her, but Pearl turns away from her and heads off somewhere on her own.  
“It takes a lot of growing,”  
A few years pass, and a visibly older Greg is washing Yellowtail’s truck at the car-wash while nearby an older Vidalia is continuing to paint Rose’s portrait as she knits an over-sized baby’s sweater that’s blue with white stars. Sour-cream is also visibly older playing with some toy cars nearby. Amethyst, who is in her long-haired form now, walks up with an appointment notice for Greg, and then ogles at Vidalia’s painting skills while pointing to herself and making an inaudible comment.   
“And sometimes a lot of hurt.”  
We see Rose crying into her hands while Greg holds her and has tears running down his face as well. A doctor stands before them in an office type room, shaking her head with a sympathetic expression.   
“But through it all, you stick together, even though you feel like falling apart.”  
Rose and Greg are laying out on Vidalia’s couch together while they wear sad and broken expressions and watch ‘Little Butler’ with Amethyst, Garnet, and Pearl who are sitting on the arms of the couch and on the floor. Vidalia walks in and makes an inaudible comment, and an inaudible conversation ensues before both Greg and Rose sit up-right suddenly and everyone gives Vidalia an awed expression.   
“And when you have a baby, it fills those cracks inside your heart.”  
A fertility clinic exterior is shown, with Vidalia, Rose, and Greg exiting through the doors. Rose throws her arms around Vidalia, who smiles at her and pats her back. Greg puts a hand on Vidalia’s shoulder before pulling her into a hug as well. The scene fades out to black, and a sign reads ‘Several months later’.

Atop a moss-covered hill above the city, Rose and Greg stood together with their arms around one another in silence, as a light breeze ruffled their hair and clothes. Each of them had their eyes closed and neither said a word for the longest time. Without opening her eyes, Rose spoke gently.   
“Greg, it’s time.”  
Greg tightened his grip around her, his face level with her bulging stomach. He could feel a tiny foot pressing into his cheek as the baby bubbled away safely inside of her stretched.   
“Just a little longer.” He begged.  
“I’m not really leaving, you know. I’m always going to be there with the both of you, watching over everyone. You just won’t be able to see ‘me’.”   
Tears spilled down Greg’s cheeks. “I know. I just wish that there was another way.”  
“Without the part of me that gives me life, the baby wouldn’t be able to exist. We could stay connected like this, but I want them to have a life of their own. The connection will go on, but instead of the baby living inside of me, I will live on inside of them. Do you understand, Greg?”  
“I do, but this still hurts…”  
Rose kissed him then. It was a long, sad kiss, but they smiled at each other as they pulled away.  
“I love you, Greg Universe.”  
“I love you too, Rose Quartz.”  
She took a step back from him and smiled, with a single tear blowing away from her face. A bright light emanated from her gem before her form deconstructed, leaving behind a small pink bubble with a little dark-haired baby inside of it. In place of a navel, the baby had a rosy-pink gem that pulsed like a heartbeat, before it faded to a more muted color. Wiping away the tears that had fallen, Greg took hold of the bubble gingerly before tapping the top of it gently with his hand. The bubble popped, and Greg caught hold of the baby in his arms. The small infant began to cry, and Greg quickly withdrew a tiny red blanket with golden stars across it from the back of his van, where he and Rose had stored a handful of other baby things.  
Swaddling the newborn, he smiled down at him and stuck his finger out for the baby to grab. With a light-hearted chuckle, Greg shook his finger, making a mock handshake with his son.   
“Hello, Steven Quartz Universe. Welcome to Earth.”  
Baby Steven let out a tiny laughing gurgle.  
“Little, shtuball.”   
“Well, I could never be ready to say, ‘goodbye’… but in the end, it’s all worth it for her, and you, and I.”  
Greg returns to the temple to introduce Steven to the gems, who all marvel at the tiny human. Pearl sees the baby and her composure slips. She starts to weep, but wipes away the bitter tears and extracts a camera from out of nowhere, giving baby Steven a weak smile and holding up the camera to take a photo of Greg and Steven. After the shot is taken and Pearl hands Greg the polaroid, Yellowtail’s truck rolls up with Vidalia driving it; there is a covered canvas in the back.   
Exiting the vehicle, Vidalia comes over to greet everyone, smiling at baby Steven. She goes back to the truck to get the canvas out of the back and withdraws the cover to show them all the portrait of Rose. Steven reaches for the painting with flailing arms and a smile on his face. Greg smiles down at his son, before wedging the photograph into one of the mounting staples in the painting and taking a step back to look at the portrait with the other gems. The scene ends with a frontal view of the painting and the photograph stuck in the top corner of it, before fading back into the present.

“Wow.” Connie marveled.  
Steven brushed away some tears, as did Greg.  
“Yeah, that’s how Steven was born.”   
“And that’s why I have my mom’s gem.” Steven said, lifting his shirt to show off the reddish-pink stone.  
“Amazing. So, Rose created an artificial womb using a bubble, and Vidalia was an egg donor for you, and Steven was nourished by the gem. That’s nothing short of a biological miracle!”  
“It sure was.” Greg said, placing the photo with his collection of other ones he kept in view, and then ruffling Steven’s hair. “You’re our miracle, Steven.”  
Steven blushed and laughed.

THE END


	2. The Talk

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, here is the missing conversation for this story. I might still make a prequel, but we'll see. :)

The Talk  
Pearl sat on the dais of Rose’s armory with her legs pulled up to her chest and her arms folded over her knees. She wept silently, wiping at her eyes angerly as she heard Rose approach.  
“I thought I might find you here.”  
The pale gem did not turn to look at her leader. “I said to do what makes you happy, didn’t I? That’s all I want for you. It’s why I exist, to please others.”  
Rose sat beside her friend whom she had been with since before her rebellion, and placed a caring hand against her back. “I know you, and that doesn’t sound like something you believe. You always want to please me though, but I don’t know why.”  
“Of course, you know why.” Pearl said, grimacing and clenching her fists. “You’ve been inside my head, and I’ve been in yours. We don’t keep secrets from each other… at least we didn’t used to.”  
Rose removed her hand and placed both of them on her knees with a sigh. “Pearl you know that I will always love you. You’ve been by my side since the beginning of all of this crazy war, and never once did you question my leadership, no matter how foolish or selfish I’ve been… I’m being selfish now, but it’s not just about me. It’s about Greg, too.”  
Pearl snorted disgustedly.  
“I know that you’re jealous of him.”  
She guffawed and got to her feet before turning to face Rose. “I’m not jealous of a human.”  
The corner of Rose’s lip twitched into a smile her eyebrows raised. “Yes. You are.”  
“Hmph!” Pearl stuck her nose into the air defiantly, crossing her arms. “I don’t understand why you’re so fascinated by them.” She lowered her gaze to her feet. “All the time you spend with him… At first, I thought he was like all the others. That you were only satisfying your curiosity… but then I saw it one day…” She bowed her head and frowned. “You really have fallen in love with him.”  
Rose got to her feet and placed her hand on the back of Pearl’s shoulder. “Yes. I really do love Greg, and I still really do love you. It’s possible to love more than one person, Pearl. I love you the way I love home, what’s familiar and comforting. Greg is like my love of Earth and nature, things that grow and are new to me. It’s not fair to choose between two parts of myself that belong to each of you, but I’m doing it anyway. It’s selfish, and cruel of me, but…” She touched her gem lightly with her palm. “This longing I have, to grow and experience new things, it can’t be done as the gem that I am. I need to become someone who is able to let go of my old life and embrace a new one. That is what I have longed for since time out of mind. I would love for you to be a part of that new life, but I can’t make you choose to stay with me now that I’m leaving you.”  
Pearl sobbed and grabbed the hand that rested on her shoulder before turning fully and embracing her partner. Rose rested her forehead against Pearl’s, making contact with her gem.  
“I’m so sorry to make you hurt like this, I don’t want that for you.” She sighed. “I can’t make everyone happy.”  
Pearl wiped her face with her hand and pulled away. “You do make me happy. Everything about you. I can’t say that I agree with it, but knowing that you're still as determined as ever to be your own gem is something that moves me. I’m not happy that you’re choosing this, and I don’t think I ever can be… I just feel…”  
“Betrayed.” Rose said.  
Pearl said nothing, but down cast her eyes again. When she did speak, it was soft and whispery, like she was speaking to the wind. “You really want this so bad that you’re going to give up your form, just to give your life to someone else? It only makes sense to me because, I would do that for you in an instant.”  
Quietness filled the armory, not a sound was heard save the plopping of water as it fell into pools from the overhanging stalagmites.  
“We should get back to the others.” Pearl said after a moment. “They’ll worry.”  
She began walking only to be caught by the hand by Rose. Pearl squeezed it.  
“Don’t apologize anymore, Rose. This is what you want, and it makes you happy. So, be happy for me.”  
Rose released Pearl, and smiled with uneasy eyes. “Thank you, Pearl.”

The memory lingered only for an instant before Steven’s breath hitched and Pearl startled to attention. The young boy’s breathing returned to normal as he slept, and Pearl smiled at him lovingly before looking up at the picture hung above his door.  
“Every day I miss you,” She said, turning back to look at Steven where he lay. “But every day I’m glad he’s here.”  
She let out a quiet chuckle. “I guess you were right, it is possible to love more than one person after all.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Not what I would call a satisfying end to their relationship, but I feel like their relationship continues on in a sense with Steven. There is a lot of continual evidence that Pearl didn't get a closed resolve with losing Rose in the series, so I wanted to portray that with this little 'goodbye' conversation.


	3. The Disappointing Appointment

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As requested by 'Dredd', here is the chapter dedicated to the heartbreaking doctor's visit. I kept it light in the spirit of the show, but I hope you all like it. :)

The Disappointing Appointment  
“Do you think the baby will be a girl or a boy?” Greg asked, as he and Rose drove to the doctor’s office.  
“It’s a little early to be asking, don’t you think?” Rose giggled.  
“Yeah, I know you aren’t pregnant yet, but I’m just thinking ahead.”  
“Well, Gems are usually female, but since the baby will be half human, I suppose that increases the chances of having a boy.”  
“We’ll have to come up with some names… Nora was my great-grandmother’s name, and if it’s a boy…”  
“Steven.” Rose said automatically.  
“Steven?”  
She nodded. “I found the name while we were researching. It means victorious and honorable. I thought it would make a strong name.”   
Greg stared down the length of the road. “Yeah, Steven. I like it.”   
They pulled into a parking lot outside of a brick building advertising for ‘Dr. Agnes Chen, M.D. Obstetrician.’ Walking through a pair of sliding glass doors, they saw a nurse sitting at a reception desk in the middle of a white room. She looked up at them and gaped slightly at Rose before smiling.   
“H-How may I help you?”  
“We’re the Universe’s, we have an appointment with Dr. Chen.”  
“Oh, yes of course, if you’ll both follow me this way.”  
The nurse led them down a hall to a check-up room where they were told to have a seat while they waited for the doctor.   
“Yeesh, doctor’s offices always give me the creeps.” Greg complained.  
“Oh?”  
“Yeah, I always hated getting check-ups, and it smells weird.”  
Rose grabbed his hand and squeezed it. “Don’t be afraid, Mr. Universe, I’ll be right here the whole time.”  
They both laughed as the doctor walked in.  
“You must be Mr. and Mrs. Universe.” The doctor said, as she lowered a clipboard. “I’m Dr. Chen. What exactly are we here for today?”  
“Well, you see doc, we’re trying to have a baby, but for some reason, we haven’t been able to conceive. We’ve tried everything we can think of, but it’s just not working. We thought maybe you could help us out.” Greg said.  
“Hmm. I see. Well, first things first, I’d like to give you both a rudimentary check up to see how you’re doing physically, and then we can start talking babies.”  
Greg got a nervous look, but Rose squeezed his hand again.   
A montage of standard check-up procedures was done. First Greg, and then Rose would be checked for their reflexes, weight and height, and blood pressure. Every time Rose was given a test, the doctor got a befuddled look on her face, but continued on with a bead of sweat dripping down her temple. When the check-ups were over with, Dr. Chen stood before the couple where they sat, and cleared her throat.   
“Well, Greg you appear to be perfectly healthy for someone of your age and body type. Rose… although it appears you are in the 108th percentile for height and weight, and you have no blood pressure to speak of… you are otherwise healthy. I have to ask, as a medical concern, you aren’t from around here, are you?”  
“Oh, well you see doctor, I am not actually a human.”  
“Ah, well, that would explain your results… In that case, I’m not sure how our further tests will work with you… But since you’ve both gone through all of the trouble, I suppose it can’t hurt to run a few more. Rose, if you would please come with me, Greg, you are welcome to wait here.”  
Greg found a magazine for ‘Van Living’ and grazed over it with his eyes. It seemed like ages, and he was starting to get anxious, before Dr. Chen reentered the room with Rose.   
“If you will please take a seat,” Dr. Chen asked, gesturing to the chair beside Greg.  
Rose sat down and Greg took her hand, squeezing her’s this time. The doctor scanned over her notes for a brief moment before giving them both a solemn look.  
“It seems from the results, that Rose is incapable of conception.”  
Their faces fell. “You mean, Rose can’t have children?”  
Dr. Chen frowned deeper, shaking her head somberly. “In theory you could, if you were to perhaps adopt, or could find a segregate carrier, but the fact is that you do not possess a womb, and therefore there is no physical way that you could produce a child on your own.”  
Rose felt tears beginning to fall down her face, Greg saw her and began to weep as well, taking her into his arms as she covered her face.   
“You’re sure there isn’t a way for Rose to bare a baby?” Greg asked bitterly.   
“I’m sorry, but unless Rose were to somehow develop a womb out of nowhere and produce an egg for fertilization, it is impossible.”  
“A womb?” Rose asked, wiping away her tears as new ones fell.  
“Yes. It is where a baby grows and is nurtured until it is time for it to be born.” The doctor explained.   
Rose said nothing else, but had seemed to calm down somewhat. Standing and holding herself straight, she looked down at the doctor with weary eyes.   
“Thank you for all of your help, doctor. We are grateful to you.”  
“I’m sorry I couldn’t have helped you another way.” She said.  
They left the office and climbed into the van in silence, driving back to Beach City.  
“Rose, I know what the doctor said hurts, but we just have to remember that there’s always a way out of a bad situation. Maybe we could-”  
“No.” Rose said, her voice uncharacteristically detached. “I should have foreseen this. Gems have no need to reproduce the way humans do. The Gem drills that put all that we will become into the soil so that we can grow… I thought that it would be similar with humans, but I see now that not everything comes from just one partner. It is more like fusion than I thought. And I’m the one who can’t… I’m defective.”  
Greg slowed his driving, the cars behind him honking angrily before cutting in front of him.   
“Don’t you say that, Rose.” He removed one hand from the steering wheel and used it to grab Rose’s hand. “There is nothing wrong with you. We’ll just have to find another way.”  
“How?” She said it very quietly.  
“Like the doctor said, we can get help from someone willing to be an egg donor, or adopt. We can figure this out Rose, so don’t feel like any of it is your fault, okay. We’ll get through this together.”  
She squeezed his hand.  
“Could we go to Vidalia’s instead of the temple?”  
“Huh? You want to go to Vidalia’s”   
Rose nodded.   
Greg didn’t bother to ask further, instead he drove to their friend’s house and Greg parked the van on the street.   
Vidalia opened the door before they had jumped out of the van, and stood in the doorway questioningly. Sour Cream came to stand beside her, wearing a striped white and orange T-shirt and standing just above her hip.   
“Hi, Rose! Hi, Greg!” Sour Cream called out to them.   
They both waved as he ran down the pathway to show Greg his new mini synthesizer.   
“Check. It. Out! Yellow-dad got me this after you showed me how to sound mix.” He pressed a few buttons and a medley of sound effects made a terrible squealing sound.   
Greg couldn’t help but cringe.  
“Sorry, I’m still learning how to use it.”  
Greg ruffled Sour Cream’s white hair. “That’s okay. Keep practicing, and you’ll get the hang of it.”  
Vidalia had walked out to meet them at this point, her hands came to rest on her hips as she stopped in front of them.   
“Maybe you should record something other than fart sounds and my blender.” She snarked.  
“It’s called, ‘new age style’, mom. It’s art.”  
She put her hand on his shoulder. “Sure, whatever you want to record, you record sweetheart. Just make sure you don’t drive your dad nuts.”  
He snickered and ran back in the house.  
“So, what did the doctor say?” Vidalia asked, crossing her arms.  
Rose and Greg both withered.   
“Oh… It’s that bad, huh?”  
They proceeded to tell Vidalia what the doctor had told them.  
“That’s rough… I mean, what now? Are you guys going to try and adopt, or…?” She trailed off.   
Rose and Greg shared a look, and then Greg shrugged.   
“Don’t know. We’ll have to talk about it more. In the meantime, Rose wanted to come see you.”  
“Yeah? Well, come on in and make yourselves at home.”  
They came in and Vidalia whispered something to Sour Cream, before he ran upstairs and then reappeared with a small treasure chest, that he presented to Rose as a gift.  
“It’s to keep your treasures safe. Mom ended up getting too many of them so, we had an extra.”   
Rose laughed happily at him. “Well, thank you.” She said, before bubbling it away to her special tree. “I’m sure that it will come in handy.”  
“What’s that bubble for?”  
“Well, I use them to protect things inside, and it carries them to a new place for me.”  
“So, do you even need the treasure chest?”  
She crouched down to be at eye level with Sour Cream, and smiled. “Bubbles don’t last forever unless I want them to. Your treasure chest will help keep other things safe for me.”  
“That’s a cool trick.” Vidalia remarked. “If you guys want, you’re welcome to come over tomorrow, too. Anytime you need a place to crash for a bit, just swing by.”  
“We appreciate it, V.” Greg said.

After spending the afternoon at Vidalia’s, Rose finally felt brave enough to face her fellow gems. Greg went with her, of course, and they stood before the warp pad in patient grief. One by one, as the gems exited the warp pad, each of them stood before the couple with questioning eyes. Well, except Garnet, who looked stoic per the usual.   
“We have some bad news…” Rose said.

The next couple of days went by with Rose and Greg frequenting Vidalia’s house; mainly to watch T.V. while Sour Cream was at school, and she went to work. Yellowtail was out from dawn to dusk on his fishing barge. Neither one of them felt like doing gem missions or washing cars. Amethyst started following them, then Garnet, and eventually Pearl. They didn’t try to stop the other gems from tagging along, and none of them really talked much, until one day when Vidalia came home early.   
“Hey! You guys, I’ve found a way to make it work!” She said, coming through the door.   
The small group assembled in her front room all stared at her with questioning looks.  
“I’m going to help you guys have a baby.”  
“What? How?” Greg asked.  
“I got the idea from seeing Rose’s bubble the other night. Those things are pretty strong, right?”  
“Yes.” Rose said.   
“And you can pretty much produce your own food, can’t you?”  
Amethyst munched something from a bag that was thought to be chips at first, but then everyone realized it was a bag of laundry detergent capsules.   
“Yeah, but food is too good not to eat, yo.”  
“That’s not food.” Garnet stated.  
“Alright, so what if…”

Coming into the office, Dr. Chen grinned.  
“It’ll work.” She said.   
Vidalia, Greg, and Rose all cheered and embraced the doctor who smiled warmly at them.  
“Now, just to be clear. This is something that has never been done before, and it may have repercussions on your body or the baby’s, but given the elements involved and the abilities of your gem, I’d say that you have everything necessary for a pregnancy.”   
The trio left the office after thanking the doctor once more, and walked over to their vehicles.   
“I don’t know how to thank you enough.” Rose said, throwing her arms around Vidalia.  
Greg joined in the embrace. “Thanks to you, we’re going to be parents.”  
“Now just hold on one second you two.” Vidalia said, pulling out of the hug. “I don’t want to hear anything about it from now on. This is your baby, and that’s that, you understand?”  
They both smiled at each other and then her.   
“Now come on, I’m starving. I’ll make us all some noodles and butter for dinner.”

**Author's Note:**

> A million thanks to those who read my fics! You guys rock! (cough, cough... *terrible puns continue*)  
> I am formulating some new stories and will be continuing on my older ones, so stay tuned! ;)


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